We visited my family in Montreal, Quebec. We had a great time, and got to dig ourselves out of an ice storm!

Feb. 20, 1997

Well, the Carney clan (boston chapter) headed to the Great White North[trademark] this past February to visit the Layden half of the family. What a great trip! We’d like to thank everyone there for making the trip so much fun, but mostly to Debbie and Steve for letting us stay at their little Chateau. We’ll definitely have to make the trip more often!

We arrived on Thursday evening just in time for dinner after having driven through Vermont and New Hampshire. The scenery was just beautify the whole way. I think we made the drive at just the right time. The skies (and roads) were clear and the air crisp. However, I was hoping to see a bit more snow by the time we hit Montreal. But alas, we made the trip one week too late (or early, see Debbie’s email regarding “Test and question”). We got to see Meghan for the first time. She’s a doll! In fact, Vanessa wanted to play with her like a Doll (just kidding). But Vanessa and Madison both love babies, so they enjoyed watching Meghan explore her world.

On Friday the weather turned nasty (freezing rain), so we didn’t do too much with the kids in the snow. We went to a fun place for kids for lunch. I can’t remember the name of it, but it had slides, tubes, and balls to play in. The kids had a ball! After that we went to visit Grammy Layden with Aunt Kathy. I was so happy to see her even though I don’t think she recognized me. She seemed very happy and content. Aunt Kathy took some pictures (we forgot our camera!), and I can’t wait to see how they came out.
Saturday began with much better weather, and Steve and I built a sled run for the kids off their deck in the back yard. They had quite a bit of fun. Steve even helped Vanessa build a little snow fort. Thanks Steve! That afternoon Vanessa and I went to a matinee of The Empire Strikes Back. It was great. She got scared a couple of times, but overall she really enjoyed it. We’re going to go see The Return of the Jedi next weekend.

On Saturday night, we went out to dinner with all of the Cousins that could make it, along with The Outlaws[trademark]. We went to Barbie’s and had a ball. But the night was only beginning. After dinner we all went back to Debbie and Steve’s. The conversation got a little raucous and we all had quite a few good laughs (Hey Carolyn, what was it that cat was doing??).

We left Sunday for the long ride home. Thanks again for making the trip enjoyable. We can’t wait to have some of the Canadian Cousins visit us next. So, when are you going to make the trip guys?